emPOWERUP Podcast

In the first episode of Season 2 of GrayMatter's emPOWERUP Podcast, GrayMatter Brand Manager Jeremy Boren talks with cybersecurity experts Scott Christensen and Tom Walker, both of GrayMatter. 

Scott and Tom discuss how a cyber risk assessment can help companies in manufacturing, and other OT-reliant industries, determine their level of security. GrayMatter's assessment examines the people, processes and technologies involved in cybersecurity — and it happens without interrupting production. 

For more details about GrayMatter's cybersecurity practice, visit our OT cyber resource page where you can download our 2020 OT Cybersecurity Guide. 

GrayMatter Senior APM Consultant Ken Latino and his brother Bob Latino, CEO of The Reliability Center, talk about getting started with a reliability strategy that includes Root Cause Analysis and Asset Performance Management.  The Latinos also discuss the Fifth Edition of their co-authored book: Root Cause Analysis: Improving Performance for Bottom-Line Results.

Additional Resources:

For more about GrayMatter's work in APM/Intelligent Assets, visit: https://graymattersystems.com/intelligent-assets/

Root Cause Analysis: Improving Performance for Bottom-Line Results: https://www.amazon.com/Root-Cause-Analysis-Performance-Bottom-Line/dp/1138332453

GrayMatter Cybersecurity and Smart Building Consultant Tom Walker and emPOWERUP Podcast host Jeremy Boren discuss Walker's work to build Penn State University's secure Building Automation Network. The network has allowed the university to make smart, cost-effective decisions about everything from building lighting to class scheduling.

For more about GrayMatter's work with Penn State, check out our case study.

View GrayMatter's smart building webinar with Tom Walker: "Are You Running a Smart Building or Just a Connected Building?" 

Harvard Business School Professor Suraj Srinivasan studied the value that publicly traded, non-technology firms derive from "going digital," or adopting a digital transformation strategy. Professor Srinivasan used a novel approach to identify companies embarking on a new digital venture —he captured mentions of keywords such as big data, artificial intelligence, digital transformation and other terms in company 10K filings, earnings calls and investor call transcripts. Using this data set, he found positive relationships between companies that launch a digitization effort and their long-term value. He also learned that more companies than ever are investing in digital tools and that companies with tech-savvy executives tend to perform better than companies that place a lower priority on promoting technology managers. Professor Srinivasan's study is: "Going Digital: Implications for Firm Value and Performance." It's featured in the Harvard Business Review.

emPOWERUP Podcast host Jeremy Boren talks with GrayMatter's Cyber Security Lead Scott Christensen about why municipalities can be particularly vulnerable to a ransomware attack. Baltimore is one of the latest cities contending with a Robinhood ransomware attack. It has crippled numerous systems, including the city's ability to process home sales. Scott delves into how cities (and companies) can learn from these attacks and prepare to deal with them. We also also share the latest about keynote speakers at Transform 2019, GrayMatter's annual user-conference July 30 - Aug. 1 in Put-in-Bay, Ohio. For details or to sign up, visit: graymattersystems.com/transform-2019-graymatter-ot-conference

GrayMatter co-founder Carson Drake dives into the evolution of Industry 4.0 and the company he co-founded in the early 1990s; and Illinois Technology Association CEO Julia Kanouse discusses how Chicago is growing as a tech industry leader.

Jeremy talks to GrayMatter's VP of professional services and Sr. Member of the International Society of Automation (ISA) Committee, John Benitz as he explains the ISA 101 HMI Standard – a topic that garners a lot of interest from our audience. 

Jeremy sits down with Jim Alampi, a highly-sought after CEO coach, leadership team consultant, and business strategy advisor who's worked with thousands of top executives. 

Welcome to the first season of emPOWERUP, GrayMatter's podcast. Jeremy Boren hosts interviews with our partners, employees, and customers with the goal to give insight into how companies like GrayMatter analyze huge amounts of data and ultimately improve the operations of industrial companies. 

But that's just one half of it. The other is all about empowering the people – and that's where this podcast gets its name. Episode 1 features GrayMatter long-time partner, executive consultant Jim Alampi on dialing into the right company culture before implementing the technology.